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U.S. blames Russia for bombing aid convoy

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U.S. blames Russia for bombing aid convoy03:27

The aid convoy was hit in the area of Urum al-Kubra, west of Aleppo, prompting the United Nations to halt its aid operations in Syria.

It is not clear who was responsible for the strike, which the International Committee of the Red Cross said killed about 20 people as well as the director of the Red Crescent's Urum al-Kubra branch, Omar Barakat.

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"All of our information indicates clearly that this was an airstrike. That means there only could have been two entities responsible," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Tuesday night, referring to Russia and Syria. He didn't specify which country's planes carried out the strike.

"We hold the Russian government responsible for airstrikes in this airspace given their commitment under the cessation of hostilities was to ground air operations where humanitarian assistance was flowing," Rhodes said, referring to the terms of a recent ceasefire brokered between the United States and Russia.

Denials from Russia, Syria

Russia denies it was responsible and says that terrorists carried out the attack.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Tuesday that analysis of video footage from drones of the strike show that militants were following the convoy, according to the Russian state news site Tass.

"It is clearly seen in the video that a terrorists' pickup truck with a towed large-caliber mortar is moving along with the convoy," he said.

UN outrage

Just when we think it cannot get any worse, the power of depravity sinks lower.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

"Just when we think it cannot get any worse, the power of depravity sinks lower," Ban told world leaders convening Tuesday at the UN General Assembly annual meeting.

Eighteen of the convoy's 31 trucks were hit, the United Nations said. The convoy was due to deliver food and medical aid for some 78,000 people in eastern Aleppo, where an estimated 250,000 civilians are facing severe shortages as a result of a government siege.

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Current intelligence

Rebels, locked in a vicious civil war with the Syrian government, reportedly hold the area where the convoy was struck. Russia has been helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the fight, though it has said its efforts are focused on attacking terror groups such as ISIS that have flourished during the conflict.

For now, no intelligence indicates Syrian aircraft or helicopters were in the area, though that type of information could come to light later, the official said.

The official added that reports from the ground appear accurate about at least two waves of airstrikes -- a common Russian military practice. Trucks inside as well as outside the compound on the road were hit.

Photos:Syria's civil war in pictures

Pro-government protesters hold pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad, during a rally in Damascus, Syria, on March 18, 2011. Bashar al-Assad has ruled Syria since 2000, when his father passed away following 30 years in charge. An anti-regime uprising that started in March 2011 has spiraled into civil war. The United Nations estimates more than 220,000 people have been killed.

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An injured man lying in the back of a vehicle is rushed to a hospital in Daraa, south of Damascus, on March 23, 2011. Violence flared in Daraa after a group of teens and children were arrested for writing political graffiti. Dozens of people were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations.

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Anti-government protesters demonstrate in Daraa on March 23, 2011. In response to continuing protests, the Syrian government announced several plans to appease citizens.

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Syrian children walk over bricks stored for road repairs during a spontaneous protest June 15, 2011, at a refugee camp near the Syrian border in Yayladagi, Turkey.

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Jamal al-Wadi of Daraa speaks in Istanbul on September 15, 2011, after an alignment of Syrian opposition leaders announced the creation of a Syrian National Council -- their bid to present a united front against al-Assad's regime and establish a democratic system.

Supporters of al-Assad celebrate during a referendum vote in Damascus on February 26, 2012. Opposition activists reported at least 55 deaths across the country as Syrians headed to the polls. Analysts and protesters widely described the constitutional referendum as a farce. "Essentially, what (al-Assad's) done here is put a piece of paper that he controls to a vote that he controls so that he can try and maintain control," a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said.

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Syrian refugees walk across a field in Syria before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012.

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An injured man gets treated in a Damascus neighborhood on April 3, 2012.

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People gather on May 26, 2012, at a mass burial for victims reportedly killed by Syrian forces in Syria's Houla region. U.N. officials confirmed that more than 100 Syrian civilians were killed, including nearly 50 children. Syria's government denied its troops were behind the bloodbath.

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Rebel fighters with the Free Syrian Army capture a police officer in Aleppo, Syria, who they believed to be pro-regime militiaman on July 31, 2012. Dozens of officers were reportedly killed as rebels seized police stations in the city.

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A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover as a Syrian Army tank shell hits a building across the street during clashes in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo on August 17, 2012.

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Family members mourn the deaths of their relatives in front of a field hospital in Aleppo on August 21, 2012.

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A Syrian man carrying grocery bags dodges sniper fire in Aleppo as he runs through an alley near a checkpoint manned by the Free Syrian Army on September 14, 2012.

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Free Syrian Army fighters are reflected in a mirror they use to see a Syrian Army post only 50 meters away in Aleppo on September 16, 2012.

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Smoke rises over the streets after a mortar bomb from Syria landed in the Turkish border village of Akcakale on October 3, 2012. Five people were killed. In response, Turkey fired on Syrian targets and its parliament authorized a resolution giving the government permission to deploy soldiers to foreign countries.

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A Syrian rebel walks inside a burnt section of the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo hours before the Syrian army retook control of the complex on October 14, 2012.

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Relatives of Syrian detainees who were arrested for participating in anti-government protests wait in front of a police building in Damascus on October 24, 2012. The Syrian government said it released 290 prisoners.

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An Israeli tank crew sits on the Golan Heights overlooking the Syrian village of Breqa on November 6, 2012. Israel fired warning shots toward Syria after a mortar shell hit an Israeli military post. It was the first time Israel fired on Syria across the Golan Heights since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

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Rebels celebrate next to the remains of a Syrian government fighter jet that was shot down at Daret Ezza, on the border of the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, on November 28, 2012.

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Smoke rises in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts in Aleppo as fighting continues through the night on December 1, 2012.

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The bodies of three children are laid out for identification by family members at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on December 2, 2012. The children were allegedly killed in a mortar shell attack that landed close to a bakery in the city.

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A father reacts after the deaths of two of his children in Aleppo on January 3, 2013.

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A rebel fighter prepares the wires of a car-mounted camera used to spy on Syrian government forces while his comrade smokes a cigarette in Aleppo's Bab al-Nasr district on January 7, 2013.

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Syrians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in the al-Mashhad neighborhood of Aleppo on January 7, 2013.

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Rebels launch a missile near the Abu Baker brigade in Al-Bab, Syria, on January 16, 2013.

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An aerial view shows the Zaatari refugee camp near the Jordanian city of Mafraq on July 18, 2013.

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A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows people inspecting bodies of children and adults who rebels claim were killed in a toxic gas attack by pro-government forces on August 21, 2013. A week later, U.S Secretary of State John Kerry said U.S. intelligence information found that 1,429 people were killed in the chemical weapons attack, including more than 400 children. Al-Assad's government claimed that jihadists fighting with the rebels carried out the chemical weapons attacks to turn global sentiments against it.

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The U.N. Security Council passes a resolution September 27, 2013, requiring Syria to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons. Al-Assad said he would abide by the resolution.

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Residents run from a fire at a gasoline and oil shop in Aleppo's Bustan Al-Qasr neighborhood on October 20, 2013. Witnesses said the fire was caused by a bullet from a pro-government sniper.

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Syrian children wait as doctors perform medical checkups at a refugee center in Sofia, Bulgaria, on October 26, 2013.

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An injured man is helped following an airstrike in Aleppo's Maadi neighborhood on December 17, 2013.

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Residents wait to receive food aid distributed by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, on January 31, 2014.

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A man holds a baby who was rescued from rubble after an airstrike in Aleppo on February 14, 2014.

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A U.S. ship staff member wears personal protective equipment at a naval airbase in Rota, Spain, on April 10, 2014. A former container vessel was fitted out with at least $10 million of gear to let it take on about 560 metric tons of Syria's most dangerous chemical agents and sail them out to sea, officials said.

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A Free Syrian Army fighter fires a rocket-propelled grenade during heavy clashes in Aleppo on April 27, 2014.

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A giant poster of al-Assad is seen in Damascus on May 31, 2014, ahead of the country's presidential elections. He received 88.7% of the vote in the country's first election after the civil war broke out.

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Rebel fighters execute two men on July 25, 2014, in Binnish, Syria. The men were reportedly charged by an Islamic religious court with detonating several car bombs.

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Photographs of victims of the Assad regime are displayed as a Syrian army defector known as "Caesar," center, appears in disguise to speak before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington. The July 31, 2014, briefing was called "Assad's Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy." Caesar, apparently a witness to the regime's brutality, has smuggled more than 50,000 photographs depicting the torture and execution of more than 10,000 dissidents. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the photos, documents and testimony referenced in the report.

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Volunteers remove a dead body from under debris after shelling in Aleppo on August 29, 2014. According to the Syrian Civil Defense, barrel bombs are now the greatest killer of civilians in many parts of Syria. The White Helmets are a humanitarian organization that tries to save lives and offer relief.

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Medics tend to a man's injuries at a field hospital in Douma after airstrikes on September 20, 2014.

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A long-exposure photograph shows a rocket being launched in Aleppo on October 5, 2014.

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A man gives medical assistance as two wounded children wait nearby at a field hospital in Douma on February 2, 2015.

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Rebel fighters dig caves in the mountains for bomb shelters in the northern countryside of Hama on March 9, 2015.

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Nusra Front fighters inspect a helicopter belonging to pro-government forces after it crashed in the rebel-held Idlib countryside on March 22, 2015.

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A Syrian boy receives treatment at a local hospital following an alleged chlorine gas attack in the Idlib suburb of Jabal al-Zawia on April 27, 2015.

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A Syrian child fleeing the war gets lifted over fences to enter Turkish territory illegally near a border crossing at Akcakale, Turkey, on June 14, 2015.

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A refugee carries mattresses as he re-enters Syria from Turkey on June 22, 2015, after Kurdish People's Protection Units regained control of the area around Tal Abyad, Syria, from ISIS.

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A man's body lies in the back of van as people search for the injured after airstrikes allegedly by the Syrian government on a market in a rebel-held Eastern Ghouta town on August 31, 2015.

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A sandstorm blows over damaged buildings in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of Damascus, on September 7, 2015.

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But the Obama administration has not yet fully decided how much information it wants to reveal, concerned that it will expose sensitive military intelligence capabilities to the Russians.

What about the the ceasefire?

Monday night's attack came just hours after Syrian authorities declared an end to the fragile ceasefire, which began September 12.

Soon afterward, Syrian warplanes resumed airstrikes in Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and deadly violence returned across parts of the country.

The events have left the hard-fought ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US in tatters, although US officials said they believe the ceasefire agreement is still in place.

Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, said the US preference is to continue with the ceasefire effort, paving the way for more cooperation between the Russian and US militaries in Syria, but that Moscow's actions could prevent further coordination.

"We have not seen good faith. This was an outrageous action," Rhodes told CNN's Michelle Kosinski. "It raises serious questions about whether or not this agreement moves forward."

He added, "In conflicts like this I think we have an obligation to continue to pursue whether there are diplomatic openings. If we can't, we walk away."

US Secretary of State John Kerry said before the convoy was struck Monday that any decisions about the ceasefire would be made between Washington and Moscow.

"The Syrians didn't make the deal," he said, "the Russians made the agreement."